Bayer close to Aventis agrochemical purchase

German chemicals group Bayer AG is edging towards a deal to buy the
agrochemicals arm of Franco-German drugs group Aventis SA for
around Euro 7.25 billion, including debt.

German chemicals group Bayer AG is edging towards a deal to buy the
agrochemicals arm of Franco-German drugs group Aventis SA for
around 7.25 billion euros ($6.35 billion), including debt, industry
sources said on Tuesday.
The two sides are still finalising an agreement after three weeks
of exclusive talks, which will vault Bayer to number two spot in
the global crop protection business.
Aventis is expected to issue an update on the progress in
negotiations when it reports second-quarter results on Thursday.
Full details are still being worked out and the deal may not
complete until the end of the year.
Analysts had previously valued CropScience, which Aventis is
looking to sell in order to focus on faster-growing
pharmaceuticals, at six to eight billion euros, including two
billion euros in debt.
Strasbourg-based Aventis said on July 10 it had chosen Bayer as
"financially and socially" the best partner for CropScience, in
which it owns 76 per cent and Schering 24 per cent.
Bayer, under pressure to reshape its business, is eager to secure a
leading position in the concentrated agrochemicals market, even
though sales are growing in low single digits against 10 per cent
growth for pharmaceuticals.
Aventis had initially considered an initial public offering for the
CropScience business, before concluding that a trade sale offered
most value. Germany's BASF AG was a close runner-up in the auction
for the unit, which had also attracted interest from U.S. firms Dow
Chemical Co, Monsanto Co and DuPont Co.
Lyon-based CropScience, which has herbicide, fungicide,
environmental science, seed and insecticide operations and employs
15,300 people, reported sales of four billion euros in 2000. Adding
CropScience would more than double Bayer's existing business,
bringing it close to global leader Syngenta AG with annual sales of
nearly eight billion euros.